Source: Gather – Electric Vehicles
The Siemens Electric Bus Rapid Transit system – or e-BRT for short – allows vehicles to run on electricity without overhead contact lines and without rails. The vehicles are quiet and comfortable, as they run on tires and electric motors.
Vehicles are equipped with electricity storage units that combine super-capacitors, batteries and converters, carrying enough power to reach the next stop. At each stop, the e-BRT vehicle is recharged for about 20 seconds, i.e. less time than passengers usually need to get on and off the bus. Electricity generated when the vehicles brake or slow down is also stored in the storage units.
While light rail, trams and trolley buses come with specific infrastructure and have restricted paths, e-BRT vehicles can travel on standard roads, sharing them with other users.
The only special infrastructure needed are bus-stops doubling as charging stations. In Siemens’ e-BRT system, such stations contain intelligence to help steer the electric buses in position as they approach the stops. This ensures more precise contact with the charging system and easy access for the passengers at a low-floor level.
Such innovations can also enhance the safety of bus travel. Bus stops can be equipped with automatically-controlled lights and announcements, complemented by warning signs at the stations in case passengers are standing too close to arriving vehicles. Video cameras and sensors on buses can help detect people and other vehicles, especially at spots that are otherwise hard to see for drivers.
The Siemens brochure e-BRT®: The sustainable development solution for Bus Rapid Transit lines describes its system as the ideal transport solution for medium-traffic routes, at a price a third to a half that of a tram line.
Check the following video, which shows how the system works:
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